Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Four Hostages, No Waiting

Happy Tuesday, crime slicksters. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where the girls are hot, the drinks are cold, and the hardboiled-pulp-noir action is non-stop, right here, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.

In Chapter 34 of AFTERHOURS, Danny and his celebrity hostages go mano-a-mano with the hostage negotiator ...

MARKO
Did somebody order a hostage negotiator?
(off his look)
You’re the crazed gunman, I take it?

DANNY
I wouldn’t use the word ‘crazed.’

MARKO
Marko Maisel, LAPD, at your service.
(nods)
Wish I could say
I was pleased to meet you,
but given the circumstances,
this being work-related and all --
(examines him)
But still, you look like
a fairly decent fellow.
No frothing at the mouth --

DANNY
Haven’t frothed in years.

MARKO
And you have a sense of humor.
That’s good. Might just save your life.
(beat)
Do you know how long
I’ve been a hostage negotiator?

DANNY
No, but I’ve got a funny feeling
you’re gonna tell me.

MARKO
Twenty-five years.

DANNY
That’s a lot of hostages.

MARKO
Do you know how many I’ve
lost in all those years?

DANNY
Let me guess. None?

MARKO
Smart lad. I like that. Smart.
(sighs)
If only you’d applied yourself
in a different field,
who knows what you
could have accomplished.

DANNY
Guess we’ll never know.

Marko looks at everyone at the bar.
Sees their guns.

MARKO
I was told there were
celebrities in here,
but I didn’t believe it.
(looks around)
This is a nightclulb, I take it.
Open kind of late --
or should I say early?

DANNY
After-hours club.

MARKO
(sees Biff)
There’s one officer --
(looks at Luther)
And there’s another one.
(looks at Danny)
Where’s the third?

DANNY
In the VIP room getting a table dance.

MARKO
I must say, that’s quite impressive.
You’ve kept three hostages at bay
and overpowered three cops all by yourself?